In The Moment
by SmilesAreAllINeed
Summary: All it takes is a moment for everything to change. So in a place like this, everything is about being in the moment. But what happens when people start to get hurt because of it. Trory. AU
1. Glaring Contest

**Hey here's my newest piece. I really liked the idea so I went with it. **

**The story is very AU. Slight crossover with Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. You don't have to have seen the movie to understand. ****Lorelei and Chris got married. Lorelei creates fashions for a job. Chris is the manager of LoreFash. Rory has a twin, Lily actually Lorelei Lily Gilmore-Hayden but what the heck, Lily for short. Lily and Rory are inheriting LoreFash. Rory is sort of OCC. She is still pretty innocent but she has an edge. The Hayden family is perfect they act like best friends. Their cousin is Finn actually Finnegan Gilmore-Morgan, he's inheriting Gilmore Insurance, and Morgan vineyards. Lily is dating Logan Grant-Huntzberger, he's inheriting Huntzberger Publishing. He has a twin, Louise Grant-Huntzberger, she's dating Finn and she is not inheriting anything. Rory and Lily would always go to fashion camp in Tokyo every year since they were 13. That's where their fashion sense stems from, they are utterly gorgeous. The Hayden's are the richest around. **

**Anyways on with the story, more is AU but you'll find out the rest as the story goes on. **

The 5 rulers of the school strode into their domain, all of them with their sunglasses on. It was their trademark. It was a rarity to see the group without them on their heads or covering their eyes.

Rory walked in front of the group by half a stride, directly in the middle. Lily was to her right, Finn to her left, and their better halves on the other sides of them.

Rory's blue streaked hair was straight and pulled into the perfect high ponytail, her layered hair framed her face while the rest was pulled back. Her ears were adorned with two earrings on each side. In the back there was a perfect 2 karat princess cut diamond set in platinum. What was so strange about them was the fact that no one knew where she got them, but she had worn them every day for 4 years. In the front were platinum hoops that looked like they had been striped wildly with blue paint.

She wore the regulation Chilton outfit with a few adjustments. She left the blazer at home, her shirt was slightly fitted under her bust just so it was tighter on her, she hemmed her skirt 4 inches from her knee and switched in her saddle shoes for navy 3 inch pumps. Rory loved the paint look and she looked hot in it anyway, so no one minded. She was into the whole bright colors thing thanks to her Tokyo fashion sense, she adored bright blue.

The girls that were with her wore more outfits that were slightly more adjusted. Tighter blouses, shorter skirts, and open toed shoes.

Louise wore the same outfit with the exception that her skirt was 2 inches higher. Her blouse was a bit tighter, forcing her to wear the top 3 buttons open with a bright green camisole underneath, and her feet in strappy bright green glitter sandals. Her ears held hoops, clearly shown because Louise had pushed her perfectly highlighted blonde hair back using a glittery, highlighter green headband.

Lily on the other hand had only hemmed her skirt an extra inch. She wore white flips flops, white and red plastic bangles in different sizes on her wrist and red plastic hoops adorned her ears. Her brilliant straight, brunette hair was highlighted with red, bringing out her blue eyes by contrast. She looked like a blue, red and white peppermint stick.

Finn and Logan wore matching outfits, according to regulation, but with their ties loosened. They didn't need all that bright stuff the girls loved.

They were the most popular, the best dressed, the smartest and the richest of the school. They weren't dumb, they weren't shallow, and they weren't trashy.

Rory smiled at the people who passed them as she lifted her Dior black frames to sit on her head. The other's followed her lead.

They all gracefully walked to their lockers before putting their stuff away and starting to talk.

"So what classes do you all have?" Rory asked her friends.

"The same ones you do." They all chorused, they always had the same classes. It was odd but true. It was probably something their parents arranged.

"Well, I thought maybe this year would be different." Rory laughed.

"We will always have the same classes whether we want to or not." Lily admitted knowingly.

"Well, let's get to our first class." Rory said closing her locker and heading towards English Literature AP.

The five entered the classroom and sat down in five seats on the far left that were always left open for them, Louise in the very back, Logan, Lily, Finn and then Rory.

The teacher went over the curriculum for the year and then gave them a list of books they needed to have for this year.

They read over the list and all smirked at each other. They had read all of these books several times before. This class was going to be so easy.

"Are they kidding me? I read all of these books when I was 13!" Finn whispered to Rory.

"I read all of these when I was 11!" Rory laughed.

"Do you have something to share with the class Ms. Hayden?" The teacher asked curtly.

"Only the fact that my friends and I read all of these books over 4 years ago." Rory smiled sweetly.

"Oh then you'll have no problems passing this class." The teacher droned on.

"Well if you grade like our last teacher did, you will probably only record the grades from the tests you give us on these books correct?" Rory asked.

"Yes." The teacher nodded slightly.

"Well in that case can the five of us just take those tests now? I mean there is no point taking this class if we already know the material. So would you be so kind as to give us these 15 tests on Monday? Including the midterm and the final? We will work on them all next week." Rory suggested.

"That won't be a problem." The teacher said through gritted teeth.

Rory just smiled sweetly. She loved to frustrate her teachers. It was just too funny!

The class ended and they had a 5-minute break in between classes. The group went ahead and walked to their class anyway and sat down.

"So what do you guys want to do this weekend?" Louise asked the group.

"My parents are out of town." Finn said.

They all knew what that meant.

"Party!" They all yelled.

"I'll bring the music!" Louise announced.

"Snacks!" Lily and Rory called.

"Keg!" Logan chose.

"And even though I'm providing the house, you all know I'll bring the bar." Finn said, ending the list.

"We have it all covered then." Rory smiled, she loved the ritual they had of picking their items ahead of time.

"So what's the theme?" Lily asked, Finn always had a theme.

"I'm thinking Around the World, you have to be from a certain place." Finn said, tapping a finger on his chin, as though he was in deep thought.

"_Perfect_!" Lily laughed. "We all know the Hayden sisters will be Harajuku Girls!"

The students started coming into the room. Slowly they trickled in. No one wanted to be in Calculus. I mean no one. They all came in dragging their feet and walking really slowly.

"Why are we even taking this class?" Logan asked.

"Well, I don't really know. Because we have to I guess." Louise shrugged.

The teacher came in and put down her briefcase on her desk as all the students turned to look at her.

The bell rang and the last of the students came in right before the bell rang.

Once again, their teacher was going over the curriculum, before the door opened, revealing one tall, blonde boy wearing a T-Shirt hidden by a leather jacket and a pair of dark blue jeans, instead of the regulation sports coat and slacks.

The girls in the class looked up at him amazed, with the exception of Louise, who looked shocked. The guys glared because it meant more competition, with the exception of Logan who's look of shock matched his twin. Rory was the only one with a completely different reaction.

She looked up and locked eyes with the deep sapphires she had seen so many times before, the same ones she completely hated and the same ones she was hopelessly in love with. She stared at him for the slightest second shocked, before her eyes narrowed and she glared.

And he glared right back.

**Hey there's the first chapter. Hope you liked it. I know it's sort of a cliffhanger. But please review.**


	2. Lily Take Notes!

**Hey second chap! I hope you like the idea of the story!**

"Class, welcome our newest student Tristan Huntzberger-Dugrey." The teacher announced.

Before anyone could say anything Rory shot out of her seat.

"_Tristan_? What are you doing here of all places. You know I go here. This is _my_ school not yours. You're a Dugrey? _And_ a Huntzberger? You never told me that! And you have no right to be here! You never called! After all I went through to call you and leave you that message you didn't even respond! You never even sent a letter! I can't be here! After all I went through to get over you, you're_ here_, right in my face! I need to go! Lily take notes! Mrs. Flinch I'm sorry!" Once finished with her rant, Rory stormed out of the classroom. Everyone was shocked into silence by Rory's outburst.

Tristan stood and frowned, debating with himself. He then sighed, as he reluctantly followed Rory out of the classroom.

"Mary wait!" Tristan called jogging to catch up with her. Rory whipped around and looked at him.

"What _message_?" He asked, needing to know. Rory didn't answer.

"Mary please I _need_ to know." Tristan begged, grabbing Rory's shoulders. Rory's eyes softened. He never begged, he was the bad boy and he never begged. In all the time she knew him he had never sounded this weak, this sad.

"You never called." She muttered pulling away slightly. He got the hint. He wouldn't hold her here against her will, if she wanted to leave, he would let her.

"Neither did you." He whispered, letting go of her shoulders and letting her walk out of Chilton.

Tristan stood there for a while before making his way towards his blue and black Toyota Corolla. It was his baby, he had worked on it, and worked on it, replaced the engine twice, added everything he possibly could, redid the paint job at least 6 times...in short, he loved that car. As soon as he got in, he headed towards downtown.

Rory ended up back in her Hartford home sitting on her bed. She was looking through her Tristan box. She was like rubbing salt into the wound. She needed to let go, she needed to move on, but she knew that even though she could throw out the stuff and she could act like it never happened, she would never let go…she would never move on. He meant a lot to her, he was her first _everything._ His face and the memories were seared into her mind and she would never forget them.

She pulled out the two pictures she had of him, one from her first summer with him and one of her last summer with him. In the first photo he was just fourteen, he was shorter and his hair was lighter, but he held that same edge, that same cockiness about him. She compared it to the recent photo, his hair was a little darker, his skin more tan, his features more chiseled, and he was definitely much taller. She pulled out the car manual that went to his car. She picked up the ring he wore on his ring finger that belonged to his father. She took out the dress he bought her that she would wear on their last day together every year. And then she pulled out the last item, a used pregnancy test.

She played with her diamond earrings unconsciously. She remembered where she got them. She didn't take them out though. They meant too much to her, it was one thing she wasn't willing to forget, she wasn't willing to let go of that one memory, even if it meant recalling all the others.

Rory curled up on her bed and cried. For the first time in her life, she cried about him.

Back at his apartment, Tristan was dealing with things differently. He was hanging out, punching and breaking things. She didn't call…He didn't call…and now they couldn't stand to be in the same room.

After Tristan surely bruised his hand badly, he rode to the hospital where they bandaged it up before he headed back to Chilton. He arrived back at school knowing she was back here. He was just in time for lunch, and by now the entire school had heard about him. He could hear the buzz as he walked down the halls. He walked into the lunchroom and the room had gone silent for a few seconds before the low mumbling and whispers began again.

Tristan walked up to an empty table and sat down putting his feet up and pulling out a cigarette.

Rory turned to the door when he came in, she even watched as he walked to a table and put his feet up and proceeded to pull out a cigarette. She couldn't keep her eyes off him. That's when she noticed his hand. She walked over to the table and sat down and grabbed his right hand.

"What part of the wall did you punch this time?" She asked.

"The part next to the door." He admitted meekly, unable to look at her. Rory looked up at Tristan. She realized how weird this situation was.

"I thought you were going to quit." She said plucking the cigarette from his fingertips.

"I started again after you left." He mumbled, sheepishly.

"Oh." She answered quietly, dropping his hand as she got up and headed out of the lunchroom with her four friends following.

They all ended up in an empty classroom where everyone wanted answers.

"Don't say anything!" Rory started.

"Screw that! Who _was_ that?" Lily shrieked.

"That's my cousin. I haven't seen him since we were 12 and he left his parent's house and moved to…I don't know where." Louise said, shrugging.

"Tristan Huntzberger-Dugrey" Logan added.

"I know that! Who is he?" Lily repeated, looking at Rory pointedly.

"He is my boyfriend/ex-boyfriend. I don't know what he is!" Rory cried, clearly confused.

"When did you meet him love?" Finn asked gently, knowing she was upset.

"Summer after 8th grade." Rory replied with a smile. Rory didn't notice when Finn looked up at everyone. He could tell they saw and knew what that smile meant.

"What _happened_?" Finn tried looking for answers.

"We dated every summer from 8th grade until now. I used to sneak out while we were in Tokyo to meet him." Rory explained vaguely.

"Why are you so upset with him?" Finn went on.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. At least not yet. Not before he knows." Rory sighed before getting up. She headed towards the door but before she left she added, "Louise, Logan don't ask him what happened please don't."

Rory walked out of the classroom and headed out of the school. She needed to be anywhere but here. She stepped into the sunlight and glanced around, she saw the Corolla pulling out of the parking lot and even with all of the things that had happened between them she smiled.

Meanwhile, in that same Corolla, a blonde was looking in his side mirror, noticing the same brunette girl standing on the other side of the lot smiling. And for the first time in a long time, he smiled too. He turned the car around and headed in Rory's direction, passing her pushing 60 MPH, and she could swear she saw a smirk plastered on his face.

Rory walked home slowly, just thinking about everything that had happened. She arrived back in her room for the second time that day and she lay down on her bed.

She stared at her ceiling, contemplating what she could do.

She didn't know what she wanted. But the hard part was, that each decision she made, would impact her future immensely. This was her last chance with the guy of her dreams. Now would she take the chance? That was up to her.

Tristan lay on his bed doing the same thing she was. He was thinking.

However, unlike Rory, he knew what he wanted to do.

Back at the Hayden House, four teens were trickling into through the front.

"Hey Ace!" Logan said coming through the door.

"Love!" Finn greeted.

"Girlie!" Louise shrieked.

"Big Sis!" Lily laughed.

"Hey you guys." Rory said sitting up.

"Well while you were gone we took notes for you." Lily said dropping a binder on Rory's bed.

"We also dug up Tristan's file. Since you wanted to know why he was here." Louise said showing her the file.

"That is if you want to know." Logan added nervously.

"I do." Rory said, crawling farther back towards the headboard. The four joined Rory on the bed and Louise crossed her legs before opening the file and beginning to read.

"Well let's see, he transferred from Tokyo Nomi High School, where he averaged a 2.1 GPA. That means he paid his way into Chilton." Louise concluded.

"He's not dumb, just doesn't go to class." Rory defended, and quickly realized that what she meant to be a private thought, was said out loud. She quickly recovered and added, "Why would he spend all that money to move to the other side of the world?"

"It says here his reason for transfer, was a promise to a dead friend and a promise to himself. _Interesting_." Louise read.

"Who does it say is his legal guardian?" Rory asked suddenly.

Louise quickly scanned the file. "It says Jess Mariano."

"Han died." Rory said softly as the realization hit her. "He's dead, Han's dead. Han can't be dead!" She rambled on.

"Who's Han?" Logan asked.

"He took Tristan in, taught him how to race, he looked after him." Rory explained, still in somewhat of a daze.

"It says the reason for death was a car explosion" Louise commented softly.

"I'm going to kill DK!" Rory yelled suddenly, shocking her friends.

"Who's DK?" Lily asked.

"The Drift King." Rory replied shortly. Rory calmed down and she motioned for Louise to go on. She was crying silently to herself but she wasn't sobbing.

"He has a ton of speeding tickets." Louise went on.

"He doesn't drive the speed limit, _ever_." Rory smiled through the tears.

Rory sighed holding her heart, a small smile playing on her lips as she remembered her first ride with him. She almost had a heart attack.

**Hey, there was the next chapter. Hope you liked it. I hope you noticed some of the little parts. Well the next update will be out within the next week and a half.**


	3. Cloud Dreaming

**Here's chapter number 3. Includes some Tristan and Rory interaction. Hope you like it. And for all of you who have seen Tokyo Drift, I don't plan on including any of the characters. Just DK and Han in passing. **

Rory stared up and saw the clouds. They all reminded her too much of Tristan. Drifting, dreamy, confusing, beautiful, magical, unreliable, changing.

It was Saturday, and there was nothing to do. So she just lay on the ground, looking up at the clouds. She didn't understand why the first day of school even started on a Friday.

Everyone was at the mall looking for stuff for Finn's party tonight. She was going but she didn't want to face the world just yet. So she went to her backyard and lay on the ground in the middle of the forest.

She had to find a release for her emotions. It was all too much. The shock of finding out that she was pregnant. The nervousness she felt while making the phone call. The anger that she had because he never called back. The sadness of the realization he wouldn't be there. And the frustration that he was back and that she would have to figure out what happened between them. The love she still had for Tristan was the most affluent emotion, which happened to also be the one she hated the most right now.

She wanted so bad to just yell at him, to let it all out…and then she would cry. She wanted so much to kiss him, but there was no way, no way at all that she was going to let him see that he hurt her. Just like he wouldn't show her that she hurt him.

She got up; she needed to let it out. But she couldn't, and wouldn't do it in front of him.

She grabbed a pin out of her pocket and walked over to the nearest tree. She carved Tristan into the wood and then crossed it out fiercely. She then carved a heart and put Tristan into it.

She didn't know what she wanted. She just knew what she felt, and she knew what she needed. But that didn't mean she was going to get it.

Rory got up from her kneeling position and headed back over to the house.

She walked into the back door and nodded at Cecile who was cleaning the kitchen. Cecile is and has been the only maid that the Hayden's ever had.

Rory walked up the stairs and looked at the clock that was on the wall, at the top of the stairs. It read 4 o'clock. The girls would be arriving soon with the clothes to wear to the party. They would have 4 hours to get ready. An hour and a half so all of them could take a shower, one to do hair and make up, another to actually eat something and a half an hour to get dressed.

Rory got into the shower now just so she could have extra time.

She got out 30 minutes later and walked into her room. Lily was on her bed reading a CosmoGirl! and Louise was in the walk in closet.

Lily looked up at Rory over the top of the magazine. "Hey"

"Hey yourself" Rory mocked.

Louise came out of the closet holding up an amazing dress.

"Oh My God! Louise where did you get that? It's gorgeous! Finn is going to love it!" Rory gushed.

Louise looked at the magenta dress in her hands. It was halter with a flared bottom so that when you spun around it would fly out in a circle. It was knee length, perfect for Louise's legs. It had the perfect rhinestone flower design on the left strap.

"You don't think it's too much?" Louise asked. "I mean it's just a Saturday night party, not a cotillion."

"I have just the thing to make it a bit more casual." Rory snapped her fingers and walked into the closet. She came out with a white denim jacket, with rhinestones on the collar and lining the pockets.

"It's perfect!" Lily said as she saw the jacket.

Louise took the jacket off of the hanger and held it up against the dress. She smiled wide and hugged Rory before putting the dress on the bed and heading to the bathroom to take a shower. Rory pulled a pair of white rhinestone pumps out of the closet and put them with the dress.

Lily smiled and put down the magazine before waving her sister over to the bed.

"Why is it that we always hang out in your room? And not mine?" Lily asked.

"Because I have the big TV and the walk in closet." Rory smiled proudly.

"Mind you I share that closet with you. I even share the bathroom with you. I mean technically the closet and the bathroom connects our rooms, but again that's just a technicality." Lilly frowned.

"Yah I know, but I have better entertainment in my room." Rory reasoned.

"I know." Lily said as she looked at the huge TV on the wall.

"What did you guys buy for me?" Rory asked.

"Well…" Lily got off the bed and picked up a Christian Dior bag. "It's not a dress but it's still _hot_!"

Rory looked inside the bag and she smirked slightly. It was great but she needed to add a little of her own Tokyo club flare.

Having Tristan around was making her crazy and tonight she wanted to look hot and go wild and just forget about him.

Rory pulled out the top and jeans and she walked into the closet leaving Lily to take a shower since Louise had just gotten out.

Louise was busy getting the hair things ready that she didn't pay much attention to Rory.

Rory looked over her clothes in her hand. There was a pair of midnight blue jeans with whiskers. The top was a plain white stretch top but Rory was going to make some adjustments. Rory knew her best color was blue so she decided to play off of that tonight. Rory looked for blue dye in her closet.

"Found it!" Rory muttered as she pulled out the box. She grabbed a pair of scissors and walked out.

"Louise I'll be downstairs for a while I'll be back up so you can do my hair okay?" Rory announced as she walked out the door.

"Okay, I'll do mine now then!" Louise replied.

Rory went downstairs and she started on her outfit. She diluted the dye first so it would be different shades and she set it off to the side. She took the scissors and she cut the bottom of the shirt so that it was just above her belly button. She cut the sleeves so that they were flared from her shoulder and she cut a slit down the top and bottom of each sleeve.

She started splashing the dye on the shirt. When she was done she put it aside and headed back upstairs. Lily and Louise were doing each other's hair when she walked in.

"So what are you doing Louise, for your hair I mean?" Rory questioned.

"Well I was thinking of just leaving it down, but I decided to curl it." Louise mused.

"What about you Lily?" Rory asked.

"I'm going to put it up in to a high ponytail and that's about it." Lily confirmed.

"What about you Girlie?" Louise asked.

"I'm just going to re-straighten it and leave it down." Rory said fingering her hair.

"Sounds great." Lily concluded.

The girls did their hair and their make up, then ate. Louise and Lily got dressed. Louise into her dress, jacket, and pumps. Lily into an old pair of black jeans, a new black and gray striped tube top, and black pumps with a grey ribbon around the rim of the shoe. She absolutely could not live without adding bright colors so she piled bright purple plastic bangles on her wrist.

They were downstairs waiting for Rory since she said she would be right there.

Rory got into the newly designed shirt and the jeans before sliding into a pair of blue and white splashed strappy sandals.

She walked down the stairs and Lily and Louise were speechless.

"You look _hot_!" Lily said shocked.

"Thanks for the compliment; I guess I don't look hot all the time!" Rory deadpanned, as she rolled her eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that; I mean you look _really_ hot tonight." Lily rephrased.

Rory got to the bottom of the steps and grabbed Lily's and Louise's hands before walking to her convertible BMW. They got in and drove the short distance to Finn's house.

They got there at 8pm, which was an hour after the part started, so everyone saw them make an entrance.

Louise walked in first and the music stopped. Lily walked in and everyone went silent. And when Rory walked in, the catcalls wouldn't stop.

Rory smirked as she made her way through the crowd towards her friends.

Through the night she danced with each of her friends multiple times. Tristan showed up about an hour or two after Rory did and she knew he was there.

Finn and Rory were grinding not very provocatively, but it was still grinding, when some dumb drunk freshman pushed Finn and started grinding Rory too. He snapped her bra strap and slapped her butt, before she turned around and slapped him.

When he wouldn't let her go, she screamed. Someone pulled him off of her and hugged her from behind before guiding her up the stairs.

Logan, Finn, Louise and Lily watched as Tristan led Rory upstairs but for some reason no one did anything about it. They knew that Rory was safe with Tristan, plus they needed to talk anyways.

Rory knew it was Tristan the moment he hugged her. She remembered the feeling of his arms around her.

Instead of fighting him, she just let him walk her up the stairs.

When they got to the top she broke down. That guy was so disgusting.

"Hey it'll be alright babe." Tristan whispered.

She calmed down.

"He's a jerk!" Tristan went on.

Rory's crying died down.

"I love your outfit Mare." Tristan commented, smirking.

Rory cracked a smile.

"Now there's that smile!" Tristan laughed.

"Hey, I'll be alright." Rory smiled when she looked up at Tristan's eyes.

"I know you will." Tristan nodded.

"Hey, I heard about Han, I knew he meant a lot to you, and Jess. He meant a lot to me too. I know he was like your dad. But I'm going to absolutely kill DK!" Rory commented.

"Hmmm…." Tristan mused. "That would be really bad, considering I'm now DK!" Tristan smirked.

"You're the new Drift King, I'm so proud!" She exclaimed, hugging Tristan tightly.

"He's dead you know, he's already dead." He muttered holding onto her possessively.

"I'm so glad!" She smiled pulling back nervously.

Rory looked up at Tristan and she didn't know why but emotion overtook her and she kissed him.

They lip locked for a while before she realized what she was doing.

She broke off the kiss and she knew that he knew what was going to happen next. She was going to run.

Rory turned and ran down the stairs straight to her car. Tristan let her go. He knew that she had to run, it was her nature after all.

**Hey there's the update. Hope you liked the chapter.**


	4. Jess Mariano and Josh Bryans

**Hey, a new update, hope you guys have liked the story so far. But I am getting discouraged because no one is reviewing...do you guys hate the plot or something? Well thanks for reading anyways.**

Rory tried avoiding Tristan after it all happened, _tried_ being the operative word. She still saw him every day, she snuck hidden glances at him, and saw the ones he took at her, but they didn't talk.

She remained strong, kept up her façade to the outside world, and he remained collected. He was the picture of calm and cool. But she could tell that he was sulking on the inside.

And he could tell that on the inside, she was going crazy.

Rory was walking out of Chilton ahead of her friends, they had to get something.

Rory scanned around at her peers, her attention stopping at a group of people on the far end of the parking lot.

She saw Tristan's blonde hair poking out above the heads of the younger underclassman. And then she saw gelled black hair.

Rory dropped her messenger bag onto the floor and picked up her feet. She ran across the parking lot, pushing her way into the crowd. The students made way for their "queen", so she would get to the inside of the circle.

Rory saw him and smiled so widely before jumping onto his back and hugging him from behind.

"Jess!" She squealed.

Jess put her down and turned around.

"Rory!" Jess mocked holding onto her shoulders.

"You can't mock me Jess, it's not fair. I haven't seen you in a month, I have full mocking rights." Rory complained laughing.

"Ha!" Jess laughed.

Rory stepped back and took a look at Jess. It was same old Jess all right.

"Do you want me to spin?" Jess asked sarcastically.

"In a sec…" Rory said sidetracked.

Rory took in his dark baggy jeans, his black shirt covered in different colored Japanese characters, his black leather jacket and his hair that took forever to style yet looked like he rolled out of bed.

Rory's eyes flashed to Tristan who was standing off to the side, leaning against Jess's Nissan Skyline, that was equally as fast as his Corolla was. Unlike Tristan's car, Jess' was from Japan, as the steering wheel was on the right, instead of the left.

Jess noticed the obvious tension, so he stepped in.

"So how's your racing coming along?" Jess whispered in her ear.

"I'm as good as I was when I left. It's not like I lost the ability to drift." Rory joked.

Rory remembered Han and added as a side note, "By the way, I'm sorry about Han, I know he meant a lot to you."

"It's alright, it hit us hard but it's alright." Jess replied. "Hey, I found the perfect place for drifting in downtown. It's almost identical to the parking garage in Tokyo. I plan on heading there tonight to hustle someone." He said smugly.

"You're kidding." She deadpanned.

"You should come, there are a ton of guys around here who think they can race like us." Jess said louder so everyone could hear.

"That sounds cool." Logan's voice cut through the crowd.

Logan and the gang got to the front of the group and got a look at who was in the middle.

They were shocked to say the least.

"Yah you should come." Jess said before he looked up at who he was talking to.

"Jess!" Rory warned, and he looked up, immediately recognizing the group from Rory's pictures.

"Yah." he said quietly.

Rory knew Logan well enough to know he would go so she just sighed and hugged Jess one more time.

"Time?" She asked.

"Whenever it gets dark." Jess answered.

"Bye!" Rory whispered directing her words at Tristan more then Jess.

Rory picked up her bag out of Lily's hands and walked towards her car.

She jumped into her all American made Mustang and scoffed at the thought of Jess seeing her in it.

"He would be so mad!" Rory chuckled.

Lily got in the front, and Louise in the back and the guys got into Logan's car, a Porsche of course.

Lily and Louise asked about Jess all the way home.

Once they got to the Hayden's they all did their homework until around 6 when the girls decided they needed to get ready.

Finn and Logan went over to Logan's to get ready while the girls stayed at the house.

Louise and Lily picked out outfits that they thought looked great. Rory thought otherwise.

"Louise, Lily you can not go to a race like _that_!" Rory looked at them.

"Why not?" Louise asked. She looked over her T shirt, jeans and flip flops and saw nothing wrong.

Rory walked into the closet knowing that Louise and Lily would follow. She dug around in the back for a minute before pulling out some of her Tokyo race clothes.

"You guys pick something out of here." Rory threw the bags to the girls.

Louise looked through her bag and absolutely loved the street look. Louise pulled out a knee length black denim skirt, a bight yellow tank top, a blue stretch tank top, and a pair of black boots.

Lily grabbed a pair of black capris, and an extremely tight t-shirt with a black cropped jacket. She pulled out a pair of bright pink tennis shoes and smiled.

"Now that's more like it, put these on and meet me downstairs." Rory said, looking in the mirror, noticing her mini skirt, leggings, and green striped V-neck.

Rory got downstairs right before the guys got there. They came in with slacks and button ups on.

"Is it bad fashion sense day?" she asked looking up.

"What?" Logan said looking down.

"Come with me." Rory waved them over.

She gave both of them white T shirts and jeans and told them to put them on.

She had Finn wear his button up over the shirt with it hanging open and she gelled both of their hair.

Finally satisfied with everyone's look she headed to the garage.

"We can't take our normal cars." Rory said pulling a tarp off of one of the cars in the vast garage.

Everyone gasped at the green and purple car. Instead of the normal European imports they were used to, this was Japanese. It was a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Not from Japan like Jess', but was modified to be just as fast as both Tristan's and Jess' cars.

"How did I not know this was here?" Lily asked.

"You never asked?" Rory suggested.

Rory drove downtown and her instincts brought her to a parking garage at the very edge of town. Actually it was the cars and the noise that guided her, but whatever.

Rory parked on the first floor and smiled at Jess who she saw talking to some girls.

"Don't think I didn't see that _Mustang_!" Jess smirked as she came up to him.

"Not fair!" Rory muttered.

"Jess, who are you racing?" Tristan asked, glancing at Rory's attire.

"Some guy from New York, he chose the bet amount, and I chose the place." Jess smirked.

"You're crazy you know that, and cruel!" She said, shaking her head as she smiled.

A guy pulled up in a BMW with a perky, busty blonde who sat next to him and smirked at Jess.

"You won't know what hit you!" The guy said, pulling away.

Rory broke out laughing. "I'm _so_ sorry!" She started when she caught her breath. "It's just, he actually thinks he's gonna beat you." She said, wide-eyed in disbelief.

The guy parked and others arrived until Jess and what's his name started the race.

"Ror, would you do the honors?" Jess asked.

"No problem." Rory said walking in between the two cars.

"The track starts here. The finish line is on the top floor, good luck." She pointed to her left.

"Ready!" She asked.

Rory pointed to her right.

"Set!"

"Go!" Rory finished, and the cars sped off.

Rory spun around in time to see the cars make the first turn, Jess easily passing the wannabe.

All eyes were on the cars as they drove around in the square on the ground floor before heading up to the second floor. As Jess sped his way up the ramp he saw the guy crash into a pole, scraping his car on the side of the wall.

Rory and her friends, along with Tristan got into the elevators to get to the top floor first. They arrived on the roof and stood in front of the curved ramp that came upstairs, one that is only big enough for one car.

Rory smiled as she heard Jess tires spin around as he came up on the ramp the side of his car facing her.

"The winner!" She cheered.

The loser came up the ramp sliding his car against the wall of the ramp.

The girls who were friends of the loser pouted as he got out of his car.

Rory cheered happily.

"That guy sucks at racing, he absolutely sucks at it!" Rory laughed.

"Let's see you do it then!" Some guy said, hearing her remark.

"I can do that!" Rory smirked evilly.

"Let's see it!" the guy scoffed.

"Bring it on!" Rory mocked.

Everyone "Ohhed" and Rory laughed out loud. Everyone headed back downstairs again and Rory looked at her car. It wasn't good enough.

Jess saw her hesitation and threw her his keys. "Here take mine." He said, shrugging.

"You trust this girl with your car?" The guy questioned, not believing that Jess would easily hand over his keys to a girl.

Rory cut in. "Hey, you want to up the stakes?" She asked, looking at his car. It had potential.

"Name it." The guy shot back.

"Pink slips." Rory replied simply, not missing a beat.

"You're on!" He pulled out his slip and Rory got Jess's easily. He completely trusted her.

"Name?" Jess asked.

"Josh Bryans" He replied flicking a piece of lint out of his hair.

Rory got into Jess's car, adjusted the mirrors and pulled up to the starting line. Jess headed to do the "honors", but Tristan tugged him back and instead started walking.

Tristan got in between the two cars and stood directly on the line. He winked at Rory, as a smile played on his lips. He whispered three words. "In the moment."

"Go!" was uttered from his lips and the racers sped off. Rory cleanly cut in front of Josh and spun around as she turned the curve. Everyone headed upstairs.

Rory was on the third floor, making the second turn with Josh still coming up the ramp. She whispered "In the moment." to herself as she sped up.

She loved to race. It felt like she was born to do it. She had a natural sense of the gears and automatically did everything right. She loved the rush, she loved the feeling. Life slowed down and then sped up so quickly and all you could do was enjoy the feeling of rushing past the world. There was no thinking, there was no skill, just raw passion being unleashed. It was something you couldn't feel anywhere else and it was amazing. That's why she raced, not for money, not for cars, not for bragging rights, just for the feeling. Everything else was just an added bonus.

Rory came out first obviously, Josh coming in at a very far last.

Josh got out flustered. Rory had pocketed the two slips.

She noticed his car, it was definitely scratched.

"Jess look at his car, inside and out and figure out how much time he owes me." Rory mumbled to Jess.

"I don't owe you anything!" Josh said snottily.

"You owe me the time that I will spend getting out all the scratches in that body!" Rory retorted.

"I'll race again for the rights to make you work!" She smirked. Josh flushed.

"How about I race you?" A guy said from the back.

Rory turned to see a guy that she might actually lose to. "Who are you?"

"Race champ around these parts" He bragged.

"Then why don't you race against me. I'm more suited to your skill level." Tristan suggested evilly.

"Yah right, but if the little lady says it's ok, I'm fine with it." The guy went on.

"Sure Tris go ahead!" Rory nodded, giving him look that said, 'You better kick his ass!' He seemed to understand, and nodded giving her a smirk.

Tristan raced like he never had before. It was all about the moment. Nothing mattered. Nothing. Not Jess, not Han, not Rory. All _that_ mattered everywhere else. Right now it was all about the rush.

Tristan showed off a bit while he raced, doing a few extra gravity defying turns and spins. He came out with a huge lead.

Logan, Louise, Lily and Finn were shocked to say the least. They never knew of drifting before, never experienced it. The biggest surprise was that Rory knew what it was. Not only that, but she could do it and was by her own rights, pretty good.

Rory smiled widely as Tristan came out first and got out of his car. Instead of going to him, she walked straight to the elevator as soon as he glanced at her and smiled back.

**There's the next chap! I personally loved this one. Hope you did too! **


	5. Japan?

**Chapter 5! Wow, I'm so happy about this story so far. A little dissappointed with the review number, but I am thankful for the reviews I do get. Well read on.**

Rory crashed when she got home. Her mind was in overdrive. The day brought back so many memories. Everything came rushing back as soon as she lay down on the bed.

She remembered everything that happened in Japan; every memory, every breath, every touch, every smile. It was all there, stored behind weird Chilton statistics and overused cheers that were mock worthy. And she was sure she would never forget any of it.

She remembered running into Tristan. She remembered seeing him race for the first time. She remembered DK's challenge. She remembered Han tutoring Tristan. She remembered learning how to race. She remembered it all.

It seemed as though it was yesterday, they were just so vivid.

Rory looked at her calendar noting the date. October 17th. School had started in the middle of September. It felt like it was already April.

She looked at her clock, it was already 6. She knew she only had about twenty minutes before Lily would burst into the closet all happy. She was a morning person. Rory obviously was not.

She groaned slowly, rolling quite literally out of bed. She landed on her plush carpet with a thunk.

"Life sucks!" She whined getting up off the floor. She headed to the closet hoping to beat Lily to the shower. No luck the water started running as soon as she passed by the bathroom door. Rory flipped on the lights before quickly pulling out her Chilton uniform. She grabbed a black leather cropped jacket and a pair of Converse. She picked up some pink beaded necklaces, and a pink ribbon for her hair.

She smiled as Lily turned off the water. Rory entered just as Lily was brushing her teeth.

"Hey." She greeted. Lily just nodded with the toothbrush still in her mouth.

Rory went through the door that separated the shower from the sink area.

Rory and Lily were completely ready at 6:45.

Lily had thrown on her normal Chilton clothes and she added orange today, flip flops, cut off gloves, and leggings.

The girls rushed down the stairs to the table, hoping to be the first to the toaster.

Lorelei always put in two pop tarts for the girls after she got hers out, but the girls always fought over who got the first batch.

Rory won. "Ha!" she plucked the two berry Pop tarts out of the toaster and stuck two more in.

She sat down at the table kissing her mom on the cheek and then her dad.

Her mom looked tired sipping her coffee; Rory guessed it was only her first cup.

Her dad looked plenty awake though, he was a morning person like Lily.

The girls got their coffee and their pop tarts and scarfed them down before running out to the garage. It was already 7.

They scanned the cars. Their mom's jeep, their dad's Lexus, Lily's 16th birthday black convertible BMW and her 17th birthday silver convertible Porsche, Rory's 16th birthday Mustang, Rory's 17th birthday BMW, and Rory's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. They chose the Porsche.

They drove the very short way to Chilton and pulled up in the front next to Logan's Porsche and Finn's Escalade.

They got out quickly and rushed to their lockers meeting up with the gang.

"Hey!" They said simultaneously as they watched the twins open their lockers and pull stuff out and put stuff in.

"Hi." They said offhandedly.

The heard giggling down the hall and the five pairs of eyes turned to the doors of the school.

They saw Summer Roberts pushing up against Tristan giggling stupidly as he came through the door.

He clearly looked disinterested and Rory had to smile to herself.

He pushed Summer away and walked away briskly passing the group in the hall while Summer looked down the hall, clearly distraught.

Tristan smirked at Rory when he caught her eye as he passed by. Rory smiled back. Summer caught all this and glared evilly at Rory.

"I guess she hasn't heard the rumors." Rory muttered.

"Which ones?" Louise asked.

"The one where everyone in this stupid school thinks he's my boyfriend." Rory retorted.

"Apparently she's either just plain stupid or ignorant." Logan said.

"Stupid." Everyone said without a second thought.

They all laughed as they heard the bell.

They quickly walked to class getting into their seats just as the teacher came in.

Rory was bored out of her mind as she finished her last exam. It had taken them a month of classes to finish the work the teacher distributed but they were finally done. They turned in their tests after the bell and the teacher told them they now had free period for first period.

"Yes!" Logan cheered as he got outside.

The group headed to Calculus slowly and made it there a few minutes before the bell.

Tristan sat at the back of the room on the row farthest from the door.

Calc seemed like just a boring class to be in.

The teacher droned on and on for twenty minutes before assigning work. The students all quietly sat confused about their work except Rory, Lily, Logan, Louise and Finn who sped right through it.

The gang then traveled across campus to International Culture. As soon as they got there though, they were instructed to go the auditorium for a senior assembly.

"Wonder what it's about?" Finn wondered aloud.

"Probably the senior class gift or something." Logan suggested.

"How many seniors are there?" Louise asked.

"About 200 I think." Rory guessed.

"I think it's less, with Chilton being so prestigious and all." Lily figured.

"Whatever." Rory muttered pushing open the massive doors to the auditorium.

Headmaster Charleston was on the stage along with Paris Gellar, student body president, and newspaper assistant editor second to Logan.

They sat down in the 4th row and started talking.

"Welcome seniors!" Charleston began. "Many of you may be wondering what this assembly is about. We called you all in here to discuss the senior class trip. Ms. Gellar will elaborate."

Paris got up and walked over to the mic before starting.

"This year as our senior trip we are giving students the option of choosing where they want to go. There are five different countries to choose from, so choose wisely. The choices are Japan, Greece, India, Italy and Australia. You have until the end of next week to decide. Please be sure to fill out the forms by then. Forms will be available in the Administration office. There will also be a box labeled with the country you choose and will also be located in the Administration office." She explained.

"Japan!" The twins announced.

"Guess we're all going to Japan then." Louise laughed.

"Yep!" The twins laughed.

They quickly made their way to the Administration office, and found the forms. Once filled out, they put their forms in the box marked 'Japan'.

"Hopefully there will only be a few of us going." Logan hoped.

"Yah, maybe everyone else will choose to go to Italy!" Lily laughed.

"Maybe." Finn went on.

The five went outside to the quad and sat down in the grass.

"So since we have until the end of third period, what do you want to do?" Rory asked her friends.

"Dunno." Lily shrugged before lying down on the grass.

Logan lay down next to her while Finn and Louise leaned against a nearby tree, Louise quickly fell asleep and Finn read his book.

Rory sat cross legged in the grass working on her calc homework.

She smiled as she looked over at her sister and Logan talking and smiling.

Finn and Louise looked so peaceful and she fit so well into his arm. It was like they were made for each other.

They were all so happy. She wished she could be like that. She really did.

Tristan passed by the doorway that opened up to the courtyard and saw Rory looking longingly at her friends. He knew what she was thinking. He thought the same thing everyday.

He kept on walking towards his car and opened the door pulling out some cigarettes from the glove compartment. He got out and sat on the hood lighting his stick.

He puffed out a ring of smoke before he noticed Rory watching him from inside the school. He looked up at her, pretending not to see her yet he was looking straight at her. He knew she couldn't stand when people ignored her and sure enough she moved from her spot and walked to him.

"I know you saw me!" She announced her presence.

"I did." Tristan nodded, taking the half smoked cigarette and throwing it on the ground. He slid off the hood and stepped on it. The simple gesture of knowing she hated cigarettes and crushing his was sweet.

"Why didn't you acknowledge me?" She asked incredulous.

Seconds seemed to stretch forever in that one moment. He stared intently at her.

Tristan answered with a whisper, "Because I don't know where I stand." before he walked back into the building.

Rory stood there shocked before she realized where she was and what she was doing. She walked back into the school making sure first that Tristan was no where in sight.

She heard the bell and turned the corner to her next class.

She slid into her seat and quieted her friends who asked where she went.

"Class, welcome to another day of wonderful, terrific, no I'm kidding, incredibly boring, Economics." The teacher announced.

"Today we have a new project to start on. We have asked your parents to each supply their child 500 dollars to use in the stock market. Almost every parent in this classroom has a business and they will allow you to invest money in their business. There are 25 of you in this classroom, each with 500 and there are 20 companies to choose from. You will report your profit and your losses and your reasoning behind choosing certain companies on a weekly basis. This project will last one month." Ms. Sherrymore explained.

She quickly passed out sheets of paper to the students.

"Here is the list of companies, descriptions of them and their statistics." She went on.

The students read the lists noting the big names, LoreFash, Huntzberger Publishing, Gilmore Insurance, Morgan Vineyards, Vanderbilt Oil, Gellar Medical Group, McCrae Lynn Law, Grant Stockbrokers, and Roberts Medicine Corporation.

"Now for money. You each have 500 dollars you can do what you wish with it, but your parents made sure that the checks can only be made out to the participating companies. Don't think you're gonna pull a fast one on your folks, so don't try it. You will be accountable for all your money and if your numbers don't add up then you will have an incomplete. This project is a third of your grade so even if you ace the rest of this class, you will only have a 66 for the class. Suggestion, don't get an incomplete." The teacher joked.

The class laughed as she finished.

"Ok you can now discuss what you are going to do with your friends because I know you want to." She ended the instruction session and sat down.

"What are you investing in?" Logan asked Rory.

"Vineyards, LoreFash, Publishing, Gellar Group, and McCrae Lynn Law." She announced to the group.

"Why those ones?" Finn asked.

"It's almost holiday season so wine, books, and clothes will go up in sales. It's getting cold and more people are getting sick and everyone wants their court appearances settled before the end of the year." Rory listed.

"Good choices." Louise commented.

"I'm picking the same ones." Lily concluded.

"I'm not investing in the Gellar Group but I'm investing in the rest plus Grant Stockbrokers." Logan chose.

"I'm going with LoreFash, Huntzberger, Vanderbilt, Gellar, McCrae Lynn, Grant." Louise listed quickly.

"Why those?" Rory asked.

"Easy, all those companies have girls in this class. The stock market is risky it's like gambling so I'm taking my chances with my feministic views!" Louise laughed.

"I'm doing the same but with the guys." Finn decided.

"Then it's decided!" Rory laughed.

"Moving on to better subjects. What are we going to do in Japan?" Louise asked.

"Well there will probably be some required activities but other then that, I have stuff we can do." Rory suggested.

Tristan heard her from behind and smiled to himself. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

**There is the next chapter. I'm gonna post the next one soon. I know you'll like it. Review!**


	6. The Way I See You

**Chapter 5! Wow, I'm so happy about this story so far. A little dissappointed with the review number, Juniors had like twice as much when it was at Chapter 5 and that was my first story, but I am thankful for the reviews I do get. Well read on. I'm going to Seattle for 10 days, and I'm not quite sure if I'll have internet access so I can post, but I will write. See ya!**

The bell rang signaling lunch and the students filed out.

They all ate lunch before heading to their 5th class of the day, Sociology.

Everyone loved this class because it was so personal and it wasn't graded on any work.

"Hey Class!" Mr. Musto greeted the class.

The 16 students sat down.

"Do you think this mediocre class can change your life, that these 50 minutes will make a difference in your life?" Mr. Musto asked.

"If we say yes do we get an A?" Rory asked. Everyone laughed.

"Hey, how many of you like labels?" He asked. No one raised their hands.

"How many of you have a label?" Everyone's hand went up.

"How many of you are your label?" The room stayed pin drop silent.

"There are 5 labels that describe people in high school what are they?" Mr. Musto went on.

"Jock" someone announced.

"Beauty Queen" Another yelled.

"Loner" Colin said.

"Geek" The goth in the back said.

"and Slut" Lily said, looking at Summer.

Musto listed them on the board.

"Lily what's Logan's middle name?" Mr. Musto kept shooting out questions.

"Jesse." She replied quickly. She smacked her forehead. She apologized. "I'm so sorry Logan."

"Colin what is Stephanie's middle name?" Musto asked.

"Faye" He said easily.

"Louise what is Finn's middle name?" He questioned.

"Fredrick" Louise said, not apologizing for her slip.

"Now Rory, what's Glenda's last name?" He pointed to the red headed goth in the back row.

"Um…um…I'm sorry but I don't know." Rory stuttered.

Glenda scoffed.

"Why is that?" Musto asked rhetorically. "Is it because she's different? Ok I want to type the people in this class"

"Logan?" Musto called out.

"Jock" Came the classes reply.

"Rory?"

"Beauty Queen"

"Lily?"

"Beauty Queen"

"Louise?"

"Beauty Queen"

"Finn?"

"Jock"

"Colin?" This time he directed the question at Louise.

"Um…geek?" She tried.

"Why is that?" He asked again.

"Today we are going to learn about people. Specifically, people who you haven't normally talked to before." Musto explained. "So pick from the hat"

Lily picked first. "Summer"

Logan, "Louise"

Finn, "Tristan"

Rory, "Glenda"

"With your partners you will follow the rules on the cards by the door and at the end of the period you will take a photo of the other person as you see them. These photos will go into the yearbook, just to let you know. You can leave the classroom but not the campus, good luck!" And with that he sat down at his desk.

Lily got up reluctantly and followed Summer out of the room. The other pairs followed.

Logan and Louise headed to the football field.

Rory and Glenda moved to the auditorium.

Finn and Tristan went to the parking lot.

Lily and Summer walked to the girls bathroom.

"So first on the list…" Logan started pulling out the card. "Share something personal."

"Well, something personal,hmm…" Louise mused, "You know Logan, Tristan is everything. He left everything and now he has everything. And he's respected, and he's earned it and you know what, I envy him. I wish I could just leave, I really do wish." She said looking down.

Logan never knew this.

"The feeling of not being able to change even though you want to. I feel it everyday, I love newspapers, I've been groomed to take over the newspaper business, but I want to write. I like to write, I don't want to figure out numbers and boss people around. I want to sit in the cubicle and write articles about this and that." Logan revealed to his twin.

"Something personal huh?" Finn thought to himself. Seeing who his company was, he thought of the perfect thing. "When Rory and I were 16, we got drunk once at a party. She told me this story about this amazing boy she met, but she wouldn't tell me who. She went on and on about him and his blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes and his car. We sat on the floor of the bathroom for 4 hours, most of which was spent talking about you." He said pointedly looking at Tristan. "But when Rory finally finished, I told her about this girl I had a dream about. It took me 6 months after that to figure out I had described Louise, that was the moment I figured out I loved her what about you?" Finn asked.

"Me? Well, as you can see I'm Goth. My mom, she doesn't find it so amusing. When she was in high school, she was like you and your friends. Very popular. Everyday, when I go downstairs, after getting ready for school, I can see the way she looks at me. I can tell she's disappointed and wishes I was skinny, blonde and popular like her." Glenda tucked her fire red hair behind her ears.

"Well that definitely is personal." Rory commented, feeling slightly uncomfortable, and very sorry for this girl.

"Well I'll go first!" Lily announced to the highlighted blonde across from her. "The first outfit I ever designed and sketched out, I never thought it would actually make it, and when it did, I realized that's what I wanted to do forever. Sensing the serious tone the conversation had taken, she quickly added. "But yah, the clothes do rock."

"Really?" Summer said skeptically.

"Yah." Lily admitted.

"I'm not really a slut, at least I don't want to be, it's just that, it's my reputation and I feel like I can't change it. I'm a cheerleader. It's the image" Summer revealed.

"Then change the image" Lily smiled.

Tristan kicked the asphalt while he leaned against his car.

"I love to drift, it's my release actually. But everyone in Tokyo thought I did it for the money and the glory. But I do it for me…and for others. You have no idea what it feels like to be in that car when it's about to spin on a turn. No fucking idea." Tristan said quietly, while smoking a cigarette.

"Could you show me what it feels like? I mean drifting of course." Finn asked meekly.

Tristan looked over at the man beside him. "Sure." He had no idea why, but he trusted Finn.

Tristan got into his car, and ushered Finn to the other side.

They drove to an empty part of the parking lot and Tristan shot off spinning before the curve and turning around. He drifted left and right almost on the side on the way back to his spot and he parked.

"Rush, I felt the rush!" Finn mumbled, his adrenaline pumping.

"I loved that!" He said smiling over at Tristan.

"What's next?" Summer asked.

"Lighten up, do an impression." Lily read.

"Ok…That smoke signal is over a thousand feet high, the entire Royal Navy is out looking for me do you think there is the slightest chance they will not see it?" Summer recited Pirates of the Caribbean.

"What's up doc, huh huh, what's up?" Logan laughed.

"Next?" asked Glenda.

"Share a fear." Rory read.

"I'm afraid of my mom; I know she doesn't love me like I wish she did." Glenda told Rory.

"I'm sorry." Rory said honestly, placing a hand on Glenda's shoulder. Glenda gave her a small smile, shrugging.

"Thanks. But don't worry about it. I've lived with it this long. I'll be ok." After a few seconds of silence, Glenda asked, "What about you?"

"I'm gonna kill two birds with one stone, a personal thing and a fear, I'm afraid of not being enough." Glenda just looked at her, unsure. "I'm afraid I'm not smart enough, not pretty enough, not strong enough, not good enough. I'm afraid of not making it, of not going to college, of not designing clothes, of breaking down, of having my heart broken, of not being good enough for the world." Rory explained.

"I'm afraid of being a society wife." Louise said simply. "And clowns."

"Clowns?" Logan asked.

"Clowns are really creepy." She said, with a shudder.

"I'm afraid of dad, because he has all this power over me and my life and my dreams." Logan said feeling exposed.

"I'm afraid of getting married." Finn said. "I'm afraid that if I commit to Louise, even though I love her that I'll mess up somehow." He said looking defeated.

"Take it from a man who has messed up a lot in his life, it's okay, and she'll forgive you." Tristan said more to himself then to Finn.

"She'll forgive you." Finn said realizing what Tristan was referring to. "So what's your fear?"

"That I'll end up old and alone without Rory; I'm afraid she won't forgive me and she'll move on." Tristan whispered.

"I'm afraid that I'll always be the person I've been all my life, evil, cruel, gossipy." Summer told Lily. "I really am."

"I'm afraid of being in love." Lily revealed.

"But you already are." Summer said.

"I know. I'm afraid of what Logan makes me feel when I'm with him." Lily explained.

"Last thing before our photos?" Finn asked.

"Share a secret." Tristan read.

"My secret is that every year I steal one of mom's society dresses and stain it with red wine." Louise said.

"When I applied to colleges, I applied for Journalism, instead of Business." Logan said.

"Really Logan?" Louise asked. He just nodded.

"All my designs are hidden in a box in my room and I'm not ready to relook at them." Lily said swinging her legs back and forth as she sits on the counter.

"I had a brother who died in a car accident. It was all my fault. I was driving and we hit a tree and he died, and my parents hate me for it. I know they do." She said, holding back tears. Lily was shocked. Seeing the pain Summer was in, she reached over and hugged her. Gently rocking back and forth to try to calm her down.

"I already bought a ring for Louise." Finn said.

"Back in my apartment in Tokyo in the very back of my closet, is a ring, a bouquet of red roses that I'm sure are shriveled by now and a calendar that has December 22nd marked on it. One day, I just went out and bought all that stuff to propose but I never did…I really wish I did." Tristan spoke from the heart.

"My secret is this." Glenda pulled out a box of birth control pills.

"You're on the pill?" Rory tried.

"Nope." Glenda replied laughing.

"You have the pill and you're not on it?" Rory questioned.

"Yep. You see, I made up this boyfriend, so my mom would stop teasing me about not having one. I sent flowers to myself, gifts, etc. One day, I decided to tell my mom that I thought things were getting serious and I thought I should go on the pill." Glenda turned to look at Rory and gave a wistful smile. "See, I hoped she'd be happy for me, and sit me down, and talk to me about how serious it was and what my options were. Or even to tell me that it was too soon and to wait." The dreamy look on her face faded when she continued. "Instead she took me to the doctor, got my prescription, then said 'I dunno who'd sleep with you, but here you go.'"

"I'm sorry." Rory apologized feeling really bad for Glenda. She suddenly felt so happy that her own mother would never treat her that way.

"It's okay. I told her 'I don't know who would sleep with you either but here I am!'" Glenda said smiling. Her smile disappeared as she continued. "We haven't talked since, it's been about eight weeks." They both sat there in silence for awhile.

"Well, I guess it's my turn." Rory started. "I was pregnant. It was Tristan's baby, but I lost it in my 4th month before I started to show." Rory said with tears streaming down her face.

"That's why you guys are dancing around each other?" Glenda asked, as the pieces finally clicked together.

"I don't even know if he knows. I called him and left him a message, but he never returned it." Rory whispered.

"Maybe he didn't get it." Glenda said simply. "Come on let's go take our photos!" She said, grabbing Rory's hand.

Logan's photo was of him in the newspaper room typing away at a computer with the words Newspaper Article across the top in huge letters. He was actually smiling and he looked so determined.

Louise's was of her jumping off a table, she looked so free, so alive.

Lily's photo was of her with a quick sketch of herself and Summer in different outfits next to her face.

Summer's photo was of her next to the bathroom wall with her hand in her hair looking very innocent.

Finn's photo was of him on one knee tying his shoe with a ring on it.

Tristan's photo was of him in his car smiling as he spun around on the pavement.

Rory's photo was of her lying in front of an overhead projecter in the media room, her hands on her stomach and the words not good enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough, not strong enough written around her and on her.

"I've known Louise all my life, she's my twin. I've known her as Louise, the society girl, Louise the daughter, Louise the dorky preteen, Louise the radiant women, but today I just got in touch with Louise."

"I spent the day with Logan, and we spent some time together, just the two of us. Some twin bonding."

"I spent the day with Summer, and I learned that there is a person behind the stereotype."

"I spent the day with Lily, and one day she will be a fashion designer."

"I spent the day with Finn, and found out he's one cool Australian."

"I spent the day with Tristan, and I experienced how to drift."

"I spent the day with Rory, and found out why she's so popular."

"I spent the day with Glenda and I wished I had met her earlier"

Glenda's photo was taken after school.

Rory asked Logan, and Finn to go up to her as soon as she got in the car with her mom.

"Glenda!" Logan called.

"Len!" Finn made up a nickname.

"Hey!" They said coming closer.

"We wanted to let you know that we had a great time today and tomorrow we were wondering if you would sit with us and Rory, that is, if Colin has no problem with that!" Logan said smoothly.

"Sure!" She smiled shutting her door. And that's when the flash went off.

Sometimes it takes a year for your world to change. Sometimes it's a month, a week, a day, maybe even just an hour. All it takes is one moment.

**There's the next chapter. It's so long! I got the end from One Tree Hill just to let you know.**


	7. Dragons Of Hell

**Next one! Man I love this story so far! Hope all of your are too!**

The usual group strutted into the halls of hell, confident and sophisticated the next morning but to everyone's surprise they stopped at Summer's locker.

Summer smiled at Lily before shutting her locker and joining the group.

Finn had gotten Tristan to join them with the persuasion that Rory would be ok with it.

And their last stop was the most unexpected. Rory led the 6 to Glenda. She smiled up at the brunette and nodded before joining them.

And their day progressed like that. They all had the same classes and they went everywhere with each other.

When lunch time came around, the entire school was shocked.

Everyone sat down together, at the same table.

Rory was at the head of the table on one side, Tristan on the other.

From Rory down to Tristan on the right was, Lily, Logan, and Summer, on the left was Glenda, Louise, and Finn.

"We need a name!" Rory said out of no where. "That's what we need, that or a theme song." She added joking.

"Ok our name?" Rory put up the question for suggestions.

"Dragons of Hell." Logan suggested.

"No." Rory said looking at him like he was crazy.

Nothing but silence.

"Ok maybe we don't need a name" Rory said breaking the silence.

"All in favor...of not having Dragons of Hell as our name…god it sounds like jury duty." Rory muttered.

Everyone raised their hands, but Logan.

"Hey!" Logan said.

"It's unanimous!" She cheered.

"Now we eat." She said digging into her burger.

Summer looked at her like she was crazy. Lily, Glenda and Louise all started in on their burgers too.

"Summer have a burger!" Lily reassured.

Rory handed over one of her extra burgers.

Summer hesitantly took a bite. "This is so good!" She said.

"_Told you_." Lily and Rory said in unison.

Lunch breezed by as did the rest of the day.

"Where are you going for senior trip?" Glenda asked the group.

The original five plus Tristan said Japan while everyone stayed silent.

"I guess we are going to Japan too!" Glenda replied for her and Summer.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Louise squealed happily.

They exited the school and there was a group on the far side of the parking lot again.

"Don't tell me it's Jess." Tristan muttered.

"It's Jess!" Rory shrieked dropping her bag. An incredible sense of déjà vu passed over her as she ran over to him.

She jumped into the older guy's arms; he spun her around before setting her down.

"Thanks for last night, Jess!" Rory thanked the brunette.

"Jason owes you about a week's worth of work." Jess said.

"Ha! I told him!" Rory smirked as her friends entered the crowd.

"Jess, meet our new friends. This is Summer and Glenda." Rory introduced as they were still getting to the front.

"Glenda the good witch?" Jess chuckled.

"Say that again and I'll kick you!" Glenda said venomously.

Jess's eyes were on her for what seemed like forever.

"Ok Len." Jess nodded. "So let me get this straight…" He started pointing at the group.

"Tris, Ror, Logan, Lily, Louise, Summer and Len." he listed.

"Yep!" Rory nodded. "Where's Jason, I need him to start on my car."

"His number, address, license, pink slip, and keys." Jess said, handing it all over.

"Good!" Rory smiled. "Gotta go…homework and all that junk I need to do so I can get into a fancy school and _wow_ you with my brilliance and my racing abilities!" Rory joked, kissing Jess on the cheek before turning around pocketing all the stuff he handed her.

She walked up to Tristan quickly hugged him and thanked him for racing to defend her honor last night. His eyes widened in shock and he looked at her, unsure of her motives. She just smiled at him then walked away not checking to see if he was following.

She got her messenger bag back from Finn and led the group to their cars.

Glenda's mom pulled up and Rory stopped Glenda from going up to her mom.

"I'll take care of it." Rory smiled sweetly, almost too sweetly. She was obviously up to something.

"Hey there! Len's coming to my house, hope you don't have a problem with that!" Len's mother shook her head slightly afraid but extremely happy. "And one more thing, you should be ashamed for the way you treat her!" Rory scolded. That wiped the smile off of Glenda's mom's face.

Rory walked away and went back to her group before they all headed to the Hayden household. This day was just full of surprises.

**There's chapter 7! I know it's short but I promise the next one will be worth the shortness of this one. The next one might take a while to come out, summer's turning out busier then I had expected. Review please!**


	8. When We Live Such Fragile Lives

**Hi peoples! Hope you like this chapter. Sorry it took SO long! I was busy, and my beta was busy, so it took a while to get it out. Enjoy!**

The cars all arrived in the Hayden garage all of them parking next to each other.

They got out and all eight of the teens went up to Rory's room.

"Make yourselves at home…" She instructed dropping her stuff on the floor as she went into the closet.

"We'll be right back" Logan and Finn pointed to the door.

Lily and Louise headed into the closet too leaving the new three in Rory's room.

Tristan was the first to actually get comfortable getting up and walking around.

He was extremely confused; Rory had kissed him and ran. And now she was not even 10 yards from him.

"So homework anyone?" Rory suggested coming out in a pair of jeans and a tight baby tee.

Everyone dropped their bags and started in on their books.

Louise and Lily came in dressed in shorts and each had a Chilton basketball tees.

They dropped themselves on their beaus and picked up their homework.

Everyone worked in silence, Tristan sneaking glances at Rory, but she kept looking down. He knew that she saw him. After a while he got fed up, shut his books and left.

On the other side of the door, Tristan was muttering to himself. "I need a drink."

"What is his problem?" Logan snapped.

"Don't worry about it" Rory said her eyes still wide.

"He can't just do that, come into our house and act like a complete jerk" Lily said, furious.

"I said drop it!" Rory yelled, not quite realizing her words until they echoed back to her through the room.

They all looked shocked and Rory just got up grabbed the phone and went outside into the hall way.

"Hey Jess?" She asked through the phone.

"What's up Ror?" Jess asked, turning off the TV.

"Tristan was over at my house today, and he stormed out" Rory started her story.

"Never mind why you let him into your house, but why in the world did he just storm out?" Jess questioned.

"I'm choosing to keep that to myself. Can you just tell me if he gets home okay? And how wasted he is when he does?" Rory requested. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid"

"Sure" Jess agreed.

"But this is our little secret okay, your not going to tell Tristan that I wanted to know." Rory continued, barely registering Jess's reply.

"Sure Rory, our dirty little secret" Jess smirked.

"Who has to know?" Rory recited the next line of the song.

"When we live such fragile lives" Jess whispered.

"It's the best way we survive" Rory finished "Bye"

The phones both snapped shut and Rory gathered her wits and walked back into her room.

Her friends wondered who she called but she kept quiet.

She plopped down and evaded the stares she received.

After a while she got up motioning for Glenda to come and follow her.

They headed to her closet.

"You still are sticking to your style?" Rory asked, fingers flitting over the hundreds of items.

"I like it" Glenda said smugly.

"That's only because you don't know what you're missing." Rory pulled out a gorgeous dress.

"No way" Glenda drew out her words looking at the dress disgusted.

"Well then how about this?" Rory pulled out a black zip up jacket, Dior.

Glenda's eyes widened and she reached for the fabric, her fingers touched it and her face broke out blithely.

"Oh My God!" She shrieked. "This is amazing!"

"Told ya" Rory chimed. She then asked, "What size are you?"

"I'm not a two like you, but I'm not far, 4." Glenda answered.

"Perfect, for you then" Rory handed over the jacket.

"I couldn't possibly take this" Glenda stuttered.

"You can and you will, what am I going to do with it? I'm a size 2" Rory joked.

"Wow" Glenda said in awe, holding the jacket in her hands.

"Look around, I'll be right back" Rory said backing up towards the door.

"It's like a mall" She heard Len say as she left. Rory smiled.

"Tonight we are having a girl's night out. No boys allowed!" Pulling the guys up, and pushing them out of the room.

"Bye!" Rory shooed them.

"Ok a night on the town!" Louise cheered.

Summer and Glenda let their "parents" know they wouldn't be home.

The girls all got dressed, perfectly.

Glenda wore a pair of black Chanel pin stripe flared slacks. She wore lace up stiletto Jimmy Choo boots underneath. She wore the black Dior zip up jacket over, a much argued over tight hot pink tee. Her hair was still pin straight fire red.

Summer put on a white Gucci pencil skirt, and a Fendi light pink halter top with the classic F pattern. She wore light pink Blahniks wedges and she curled her highlighted brown hair, in really tight bouncy curls.

Louise wore a halter rhinestone deep green Armani sleeveless dress, hugging every curve and stopping halfway down her thigh. It flared at the bottom, perfectly, revealing a little more when she twirled. She dressed everything else down, with grey Chanel ballet flats she's had forever, and a grey pea coat. Her hair stayed straight, and she pulled it back.

Lily had picked out, a Rock and Republic dark wash navy denim mini, and she wore a Juicy Couture purple halter top. Her feet were covered in Jimmy Choo heels, and her hair was flat ironed, with its red highlights.

Rory pulled out a Versace dress, ocean blue that was a halter and went down to her knee, it looked a lot like Louise's but she did her accessories completely different. She wore an Armani white track jacket over it, which gave it a really sporty look, and she paired it with knee high white leather boots, and fish nets. Her blue highlighted hair was waved carefully.

It was safe to say there were going to get _a lot_ of attention tonight.

**Not my longest chapter. But I wrote it late and wanted to get it to my beta LoVe23 as soon as possible. It's better then nothing though. It had a little Trory action, not directly but give it just a little longer. There are soon going to be a couple more pairings, so keep your eyes out. And I know a lot of people are waiting for Japan, it's coming, it's coming. **


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